To read
other Betty Hill International Forum reports,
click HERE...From
the October 2001 VOTER...on the First Betty Hill
International Forum:
The
following
was
written by Betty Hill before the First Betty Hill
International Forum (2000), in the event she was
unable to attend...she did attend, and gave a
speech
similar to this message:

"From the earliest days of the League
programs, there was always a concern for
international problems. We had study
programs and speeches on issues like world trade,
China and the United Nations.

Through the years, programs for study
began to change, and I became concerned that the
League was losing its global outlook. I
rejoice that Weston is coming up with an
answer by
offering programs like this one today. After
all, women have a powerful voice, not only in
Weston and Connecticut affairs, but also on global
issues.
Congratulations to our League for
taking this step.

I thank you greatly for
honoring me by naming these lectures for me.
I am only one small voice. Thank you
again..."

Betty Hill passed away on August 27,
2001 at age 102.

Why Betty Hill was so important to the
Weston League of Women Voters...Betty
Hill and Brownies, along with Hon. George C.
Guidera, First Selectman and Barbara Rowland, V-P
Weston LWV at 1998 United Nations Day, in Weston
Town Hall.
U.N. Flag then raised over the
Weston Town Hall in honor of the United Nations.BETTY
HILL HONORED BY SECRETARY OF THE STATE IN HARTFORD AS
AMONG FIRST OF WOMEN VOTERS IN CONNECTICUT!!!
Read the story below (from CT POST)...

HARTFORD - Applause echoed across 80
years in the historic House of Representatives on
Thursday during a ceremony commemorating
Connecticut's

confirmation of the 19th Amendment
that gave women the right to vote.

In honor of the anniversary,
101-year-old Mary Elizabeth Hill of Weston along
with two other centenarians were presented with
lavender sashes and bouquets of

flowers, celebrating their first votes in the 1920 election.

"My father took
me to the polls; he was so proud of me," said
Hill, a 1921 graduate of Smith College who
remained active in local town meetings and the
League of Women
Voters ever since.

"I remember
being very anxious to take any opportunity that
women could to serve the country."

The women, plus five others unable to
attend, are apparently the only surviving 1920
voters in Connecticut. Town clerks and voter
registrars from across the state located
them.

Ruth Morrison, 101, of Bloomfield,
remembers being booed and cajoled by men when she
arrived at the polls to cast her 1920 ballot. And
Marjorie Burnham Ayer Robbins,
103, of Franklin,
said that her political involvement of 80 years ago
is one reason why she remains active in her local
Grange and the town historical society.

"We are here today to honor those women
who had the courage to fight for the right to vote
and took the ground-breaking step of casting a
ballot 80 years ago," said
Secretary of the State
Susan Bysiewicz. She presided over the ceremony,
which was followed by a reception in the Capitol's
historic Hall of the Flags.

"Because of their
bravery, my daughters and your daughters can grow up in a country where the right to vote is just that -
a right."

[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the CT POST website]